The Total System Success Story Bob Bunker: How You Can Transform Your Career and Your Life
How You Can Transform Your Career and Your Life
With the right knowledge, tools, and positive thinking everyone can achieve their career goals and aspirations. To affirm that belief, Bob Bunker, a good friend and Total System student par excellence, joined us to talk about how he implemented the principles of Job Search:The Total System and achieved his career aspirations.
From Military to Civilian Careers… Success All the Way
Bob currently serves as Senior Vice President of Brookwood Group, a construction program management firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. For more than 50 years, Bob has worked in program, project, and organizational management, and has served clients in both the public and private sectors. Before his career at Brookwood Group, Bob was the Chief Executive Officer of TGA Technologies, Inc., a small, privately owned communications and electronics company. His other notable management positions include: corporate manager for Asian operations and later Senior Vice President of the international construction and engineering firm, and Theater Director for logistics and construction support contract to U.S. Army and Air Force Units in Eastern Europe. Bob has also performed executive management functions for the Department of the Army and led large-scale domestic and international projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Bob devoted his early career to the U.S. Army, and is a retired Major General. He received his Master of Science degree in Civil and Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his Bachelor of Science degree in Military Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy.
Discovering and Implementing The Total System
Bob shared that when he started his job search he possessed limited knowledge of the job search process. After 32 years in the Army and 9 in the Corp of Engineers plus additional experience in the corporate world, he felt like having to “start all over” with a new career. He was introduced to Job Search: The Total System resources while completing his service in the Balkans, and observed how important it was to his search to take time at the beginning of the process to read and understand all the elements and how they are linked together in a cohesive program. By learning and mastering all the techniques of resume preparation, effective networking, letter writing, and interviewing early in his search, Bob affirmed that The Total System actually became an effective shortcut in his job search. Bob also stated that The Total System helped him clarify and articulate his career goals more quickly than had he floundered in the market without the discipline of The Total System to guide him.
Bob commended the universal applicability of The Total System’s job search and career advancement principles. “People from all backgrounds and situations can benefit from The Total System by adapting and applying it to meet their needs!” Bob recalled his experience in our outplacement program where he observed individuals from many diverse backgrounds, all with different visions for their lives. And despite varying degrees of experience and education, all shared a common goal: a commitment to effectively engaging The Total System to advance their careers.
Implementing The Total System
Bob applied The Total System’s job search principles and techniques to become a master job seeker. He recalled the challenge of preparing a resume that did not simply list and describe his past positions, but actually quantified what he accomplished. Thinking about your resume as a valuation of past accomplishments transforms it into a testament of what you can bring to a position and an employer. In addition to presenting your accomplishments, The Total System teaches you how to communicate your career goals and objectives into your resume. It is challenging, but redrafting your resume so that what you have done demonstrates what you can and will do elevates its power to communicate your value to the employer in specific quantification of results!
It’s All About Linkage
As a Total System aficionado, Bob understands that linkage of the job search steps is what transforms the entire job search process into a “system” that propels the job seeker into a whole new level of competence. Bob explained how his A+ resume linked to his letters of recommendation by validating every single claim that he had made in his resume. He also challenged himself to draft letters that would reflect the uniqueness of each individual reference and their relationship to him and his accomplishments. Amazingly he added footnotes to each draft so that his references would know exactly what he did and could speak to each one of his accomplishments. If you doubt the value of linkage, consider that Bob went on to become CEO in an entrepreneurial venture applying its power throughout his campaign.
“Confidence in Confidence Alone”
In the Oscar-winning film “The Sound of Music,” Julie Andrews famously sang, “I have confidence in confidence alone” as she embarked on a new career. Indeed confidence in yourself and your skills is essential to career success, and Bob affirmed that confidence was pivotal in his job search. As an introvert he admitted that he was intimidated by the thought of talking about himself to potential networking contacts and employers. However, he was reassured by the fact that his resume and references backed up everything he planned to say to contacts and employers. Intimidated by cold calling, Bob began by contacting individuals he knew and asked them for advice and guidance. These initial contacts led to others, and in some cases individuals even placed calls and contacts for him. Networking and relationship-building allowed him to line up job opportunities. By linking his resume, references, and networking strategies, Bob was able to articulate how his skills and goals fit the company’s needs. And here’s a fun fact to conclude the story: the company brought him in as a partner!
It All Comes Back to Linkage and Psychological Leverage
Bob attested that the value of The Total System lies in how every element comes together and supports the entire process. In The Total System you begin with the assessment phase in order to determine personal and career goals and where you want go. Then, you create a resume that builds on the past but speaks to your career vision, demonstrates your potential, and shows what you can contribute to the employer’s organization… and bottom line. References support your A+ resume, and all of the elements together give you the confidence and “psychological leverage” to network, execute interviews, and negotiate when you find the right position. Linking all of these carefully and thoughtfully prepared elements of the job search is especially important in today’s tough economy because there are fewer positions and more competition. Linkage will give you the confidence and leverage to beat out your competition!
How the Global Economic Crisis is Weighing on Engineering and Construction
Bob addressed how the global economic crisis is influencing the engineering and construction industry. While there are still projects in need of workers, unfortunately the field has witnessed a significant decline in the number of projects, especially in the private sector. As a result, businesses previously involved in construction in the private sector, are now moving into areas with more substantial funding, such as public schools and federal government projects. Bob said this has increased the competition on bids for school and government projects, changing the focus from profit to preservation. As a result hiring needs and expenses are declining substantially. Despite his rather bleak assessment of the construction industry, Bob mentioned that there are a few opportunities for new graduates with some construction and project experience to enter the industry. These individuals are appealing to employers right now because not only do they have up-to-date knowledge of technology, but their compensation expectations are lower so they are less costly for struggling businesses.
Military Careers and Transitioning to Civilian Life
Bob shared some of his insights into military careers, as well as tips for transitioning from military to civilian careers. We know that in the civilian sphere it is vital to assess, define, and plan a career path in order to achieve optimum success, and Bob made the same case for military careers. The military offers a myriad of opportunities in a wide range of career fields, so if you have contemplated entering the military, it is important to define what you would like to do and then pursue it. Bob talked about his own career as an example and illustrated how his professional engineering career was very different from electricity and electronics-based signal corps and elite combat outfits. For individuals who are unsure about committing to a full career in the military, Bob suggested that even a few years of service provide opportunities to be mentored in leadership, discipline, and management.
Military personnel are known to be highly intellectual and motivated individuals and they strengthen these skills throughout their military service. When transitioning into civilian life, they are very marketable because employers appreciate and expect from them high levels of maturity, discipline, and dedication. Bob offered a few suggestions for transitioning into the civilian sphere. Above all he emphasized the importance of being yourself. If you have a military background, you should be proud of your accomplishments! He did suggest that individuals be especially aware that the practice of influencing people is different in civilian life. Retired military personnel should not expect to give or be given orders, and instead should be prepared to use their personalities and ideas to influence people.
Bob is a stellar example of just how effective and successful you can be in many different career paths if you dedicate yourself and adhere to the principles, advice, and practices of Job Search: The Total System. As Bob attests The Total System will help you define your goals, implement your job search, and most importantly build your confidence so you can find the best career and the best life!